A beautiful classic, retro, black and white, a literal blast from the past – this one. The movie is set in Casablanca, the biggest city in Morocco, around the early forties. During this time, wars and chaos were turning the hapless into wishful refugees, who waited hopelessly in the Moroccan city for a visa to return home.

‘Casablanca' tells the story of a pair of star-crossed lovers whose fates were not destined to coincide. Richard Blaine and Ilsa Lund – the classic lovers – had fallen in love in Paris, but had to part for ‘unfortunate reasons’ (I’d insist against spoiling anything essential to the plot). They met again in Casablanca, but for ‘adverse circumstances’ failed to rekindle their romance to the fullest. The good thing, though, is that in the end, everybody lives!

Except for the bad guy. He died for a good cause.

All in all, ‘Casablanca’ is a beautiful classic to satisfy all romantic souls of all ages. It’s a light lovely treat, with a simple plot and almost no violence; even the romantic scenes are kept to a demure decency, and I don’t think it’s sad enough to make anyone cry. However, the beauty of classic movies, I believe, lies within their guileless simplicity. Movies like ‘Casablanca’ lay the foundation for today’s screen romance, and they thereby retain the purest originality of what has timelessly been considered ‘beautiful’ in the subject of love.

Of course, classic movies are quite picky when it comes to their audience, so if you’re a big fan of ‘The Avengers’, ‘TMNT’, or other heavy action movies thereof, you might find ‘Casablanca’ rather boring (as in, ‘chick flick’ material). Also, if you’re looking for a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ sort of melodrama, you might not find it here, for – as mentioned – I doubt that the plot’s potent enough to tear through anyone’s heart (touch, perhaps – at most). As a fan of plot twists and flaming dalliance, I found this – unexpectedly – a little bland for my taste, so personally I’d give it a 6/10.

All in all, if love’s a box of chocolate, ‘Casablanca’ would be semi-sweet, with a touch of vanilla. It’s more heart-warming than sizzling hot. Though if this is what you’re looking for, I can’t see why you wouldn’t want to give this oldie a shot.